Working in the backyard

I WAS going to say Rose of Sharon!! I am quite confused about plants, but I believe you are correct! It's hard to believe that my paternal grandfather and mother had green thumbs, yet I struggle to name even a few plants in my garden. 

But I was attempting to use my pale green thumbs as I puttered in the garden in the morning. More in a second. 

It was another fun day at the Virtual Retreat. Our new hours are 3 PM to approximately 9 PM EST, in case you'd like to join us in the future. They used to be longer, but I want to play host and be on the call, and this time works for me. Remember - it's all about reclaiming some time to complete more of my projects. I was actually quite accomplished yesterday, or at least more so than I've been in the past. 

The next one is scheduled for August 30 and 31. I learn so much from everyone else that it blows my mind! Just when you think there is nothing new to learn, BAM -- your head is spinning with new knowledge and new ideas! 

After walking the girls, I was hot and sweaty, and I decided it was a good time to finally get the mulch I had purchased months ago into the garden. I know --- I'm good at procrastinating. 

I had only purchased 10 bags, and if I really wanted to cover the entire backyard, I would need about 200 bags. At which point, I should just buy the large bag, but then it's a hassle to get it from the front to the back. My intention was to buy 10 bags for each of several weeks, but that didn't happen. Oh well. It's not the end of the world. 

Newly laid mulch

More mulch

It's incredible how quickly the weeds grow back, especially between those rocks. I'll get in one more session of weeding before the trip, and then it'll have to wait until the end of August, which isn't a big deal. It's pretty clean right now, so a few weeks won't kill anything. And if I can find more mulch when I get back, I might get a few more bags. 

Poor Murphy was so hot when she got back from the walk, and when I showed her the small swimming pool, she just flopped right down. But she didn't stay long, nor did she return to it - even when I encouraged her. Maybe she didn't like the fact that she couldn't lie flat out! 

MOM - I'm boiling! 

Let's see -- Oh yes -- I mixed up the concentrate of the pesticide for my boxwoods and they got a good spray. I'll spray again this coming weekend, and hopefully they will be saved. They are out front. 

And no wonder that dog is hot -- she thinks sunbathing is a good thing. Then she comes in the house and is HOT. Well, she knows what to do to stay cool. She loves to sleep in the basement where it's cool. 

MOM - the sun is good for you!

Miss Lexi, who is afraid of stairs, prefers to have a fan! But it's incredible how one fan (well, we now have two) can keep the temperature and the humidity down in the house. Five minutes after I turn the fan off? Hot and sticky!

MOM - I LOVE the fan!

I know - we could turn the AC on, but I love hearing the birds chirping, I love getting that breeze through the windows, and I love that the girls can come and go as they want. It makes the house feel alive! Having the AC off also makes a huge difference in our ability to cope with the heat. Since our bodies are accustomed to the heat, we don't feel it as much outside. DH still plays golf in this weather, and I walk every day. 

I don't have an issue with getting to sleep or staying asleep due to the heat. 

I stared at this picture for a few minutes before I remembered why I had taken it. A house near me decided to install artificial turf. OK -- I get that, but perhaps I'm missing something. There are huge seams in this section. Wouldn't you want that to be one piece? Do they think it'll grow and the seams will disappear? Just seems odd. They are NOT connected - just shoved one beside the other. 

A patchy artificial turf job

I did manage to finish the appliqué on my quilt top. I realized after I got started and looked at the appliqué that these ones were added on after the top was stitched together. You'll understand more when you see the top. It's now loaded on the long arm, but I didn't get a chance to quilt it. See how the appliqué sappliquéer the edge of the block? That's why it never got done. It was a hassle to deal with the entire quilt top while I twisted and turned, but it was fine, and it's done! 

Appliqué oAppliquéngle quilt

Can you tell that two different people and two different machines, 25 years apart, did the stitching on that block? I didn't think so! There are a few other blocks, where you can see that two different people did the work, but it's a quilt -- do I care if it's not perfect? Not in the least. It's a group quilt, so that means it will never be perfect! 

I also completed some more machine embroidery, and this morning, I did some more tidying up. I have some paperwork and administrative tasks to attend to, and I might use my mornings at the upcoming retreat to get that done. Yes -- I'm off to another quilt retreat this morning. 

I did a bit of panic packing this morning, but only because I have a project that needs to be done and I have one week. No extensions, so if I can get a bit more done in the next four days, it'll be less pressure when I'm back. I'd almost be happy not to sew anything but the urgent things and get caught up on work! I'll see how it goes. 

And can you tell me about my headphones? What's with them? I was having a lot of difficulty with them, and I suspect there's a short in the wires due to the way the ear part rotates to turn them on and off. However, they have been behaving themselves quite nicely lately, and I'm a happy person!

However, I noticed that I've now torn the "leather" on the headband. Why? 

The leather is torn! 

Because of the way I was putting my hair up in this hot weather. I was using a squeezy clip, and I think the top of it damaged this material. I found some flat clips the other day, and they work so much better. I'll explain that situation a bit more tomorrow. 

DH took care of the ETAs yesterday, and thank goodness he did. It sounded like an awful process with a few frustrations. I'm sure that as this becomes a more common requirement for travel, the process will get refined. Now we wait for approval. Due to the shifts in where people are traveling, I wonder if some countries will start refusing entry to their borders because of the numbers. 

My task for today is to finalize the insurance details and contact the doctor regarding the vaccines. 

Many people have asked if I will be blogging while away. You bet!!! I have my office at home, where I mostly blog, and it consists of a desktop computer. I have a portable office, which I pack in my backpack and which consists of a laptop. When I travel on vacation, I have a ULTRA mini portable office, which I pack in a ziplock bag. I'll share the photo tomorrow since some of you may not be familiar with it. As long as I have Wi-Fi, I'll continue to post. The pictures are very challenging to post on the blog when I'm on vacation, but I'll consider options and — oh — I just thought of a way I might be able to make that happen. And it'll only add a few ounces to my Ziploc! Stay tuned! 

On that happy note, I'm out of here! I have a few things to attend to before I leave. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!